Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1887-02-17
STRANGE METALLIC FREAKS.
Queer Forms Assumed by Molten Silver
Dropped on Cold Slabs.

Queer Forms Assumed by Molten Silver
Dropped on Cold Slabs.
Ten years ago this winter stood in the
big California stamp mill at Virginia City,
New, watching the sixty ponderous $50
pound weights laundering on the quartz.
The pulp was being stirred in the great
pans; the tailings were going out down
flume like mill race. At each settling
pan was large canvas bag held in wise
like grip. was invited to thrust my
band into one of them. l did so, and
brought up a great handful Of something
that was heavy and as elusive as quick
sand.
"That," said Senator Fair, then super
intendent of the Big Bonanza mine, ''is
amalgam-quicksilver and gold and silver.
We put that in red hot retorts. The
quicksilver passes off in vapor, is caught
and precipitated, and the bullion comes
out in blackened but solid mass. Now
come down to the refining room and I'll
show you something. Dye ever see how
silver spreads when you drop it? can't
do this as well as I'd like to, for there's
too much gold; this stuff runs 45 per cent.
gold, and it's too heavy to work as I'd
like it.' ...#F
Senator Fair led the way to room in a
brick building adjacent, where two great
caldrons were boiling and bubbling.
''There's half a million in each of those"
said Mr.. Fair. "Johnny, clear this iron
table, and get me two blocks of ice"
The ice was brought, and the blocks
were placed a foot apart on the iron bed.
When all was chilled Mr.. Fair said: "Give
me fifty ounce ladle" The latter was
dipped into one of the caldrons and came
up with pint of white, molten fluid.
''Now watch" said Mr.. Fair. He held it
up as high as his arms would reach and
dropped it on the cold slab between the
cakes of ice. Hedropped it in splatches of
little more than tablespoc->tnl each. The
effect was marvellous. AS the liqeSI sill
yer and gold fell its weight scattered it
into 10000 conceivable shapes, and the
cold chill so suddenly applied CONCEALED it
into hundred thousand inconceivable
shapes in an instant. There were splat-
ters and splatches and all sorts of things.
Where a single drop would fall it would
expand to either q coach wheel or a cob
web, as the freak would take it, If Mr..
Fair dropped spoonful next the cake Of
ice the splashes would rise, catch on to the
ice and make a perfect little wire forest.
1t was one of the most beautiful sights the
writer had ever seen.
"Jewelers and silversmiths," said Mr..
Fair, 'get good many of their ideas from
just such idiosyncrasies of silver bullion.
have held it up before now, dropped it
and seen come out the oldest and most
surprising forms. Lon Hamilton, Jones'
brother-in-law, has complete coach and
four and hounds behind-the result of just
one splatch on a cake of ice down at the
Belcher. Odd things in silver? Oh, the
silversmiths are more perfect than we are,
but I'll bet can hold this ladle up, drop
+, the whole Of it on that cold slab and you
will see variety of forms, devices and
grotesqueries such as you never dreamed
of. Johnny, give me o fresh ladle. Now,
stand away. Here she goesr' and pint
of molten silver went out on the cold iron.
| Ten thousand shapes and i'll shapes, and
ten other thousand forms were there.
There were forests and streams, and birds
and reptiles, and rocks and mountains.
To have picked out all would have been a
weeks task. tr.f
''Chuck it back into the pan,' said Mr.
Fair. ''Give me another ladle. Now
watch thisr'
| Down it went on the cold slab. There
were elephants and giraffes, and lions and
dogs, and African bungalows, and on one
splatch marching regiment could have
been made out by but a trifling stretch
of the imagination. Chicago Herald,